Haile on the road to glory

Haile Gebrselassie has set his sights on breaking another record when he makes his Great North Run debut next month.

Gebrselassie ran the fastest 5,000metres ever seen on British soil with a superb victory in the London Grand Prix last Friday.

And he believes he can challenge the GNR half-marathon best of 59 minutes 48 seconds set by Kenyan Paul Kosgei two years ago - as long as the conditions are in his favour.

'I don't know much about the course but the weather will be important because it is in the north of England where it is always chilly,' said the 31-year-old, who has a best of 59.41 at the distance.

'I know that part of England is a bit cold. I don't worry about the temperature, I just don't like it being windy. But if the weather is good enough, why not break the record?'

Gebrselassie will turn his attention to road-running after Athens, where he will be chasing a third successive Olympic 10,000m title. The Ethiopian is already the fastest man ever over ten kilometres on the road - clocking 27.02 in December 2002 - and has also finished third in the London Marathon.

'Track is still my favourite but I like road as well,' he explained. 'I will have to change my training programme because these events need more endurance while the track needs speed. I will also concentrate on gaining more strength.'

Gebrselassie made his half-marathon debut on British soil in Bristol three years ago but will use different tactics in chasing Kosgei's GNR record.

He added: 'That one was my first half-marathon and I did a very good time. But I was concentrating only on winning because it was the World Championships. The Great North Run will be different - I'll just try to concentrate on a good time.'

GNR organiser Brendan Foster said: 'Getting Haile has been my ambition and he'll make it a great occasion.'